Life’s rewards
“We begin to pray only for God’s will for us. That way, we get only what we are
capable of handling.”
Basic Text p. 47
Imagine what might happen if God gave us everything we wanted. A fabulous new
car, straight A’s, a triple salary raise – all ours without effort, just for the asking.
Now imagine the problems that come along with unearned riches, new luxury cars,
and unmerited scholastic recognition. What would we do with a huge salary raise
that had been granted for no reason? How would we handle our new financial
responsibilities? And how would we live up to that raise? Could we ever make it
appear that we deserve such pay when we know we don’t?
What about that fantastic new car? Most come with expensive insurance premiums
and hefty maintenance costs. Are we prepared to care for what we’ve asked for?
Academic honors? Could we perform like A students after we’d been given high
marks we hadn’t earned? What would we do if we were exposed as frauds?
When we talk to God, we need to remember that we live in the real world. We earn
rewards and learn to handle them as we do. Confining our prayers to requests for
knowledge of God’s will, the power to carry it out, and the ability to live with the
consequences will ensure that we get no more than we can handle.
Just for today: I will pray only for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry
that out in the real world.